Devoted to the End
Woodcut, The Death of Anne Askew (1563) After reading about Anne Askew I found myself sitting in awe of her commitment to her faith and to
her friend, Katherine Parr. By holding to her beliefs and not betraying a friend, Anne Askew puts herself in jeopardy but continues to stand by her convictions. Because she does not conform to the Catholic doctrine, she has the dubious distinction of being the only woman on record to have been tortured in the Tower of London, before being burned at the stake. Even when faced with torture and death, Anne Askew manages to get her message out. In Examinations she defies the constraints of gender and hierarchy, and attempts to expose patriarchal insecurity surrounding female involvement in traditionally male religious subjects.It is interesting to note that Askew had tried using "the Master's tools" when she petitioned for a divorce on religious grounds and cited 1 Corinthians: 7.15 as proof. As we have learned, "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House."
posted by Lucy @ 4:36 PM
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